When Diane Lamb wed in 1976, the Riverside woman vowed that her
family's former priest, the Rev. Theodore Feely, would perform
the ceremony.

"He was just a wonderful man," said Lamb, now 48. "I changed
parishes because it meant that much to me that he officiate over
my wedding."

Almost two decades later, Lamb is organizing a group of former
Queen of Angels parishioners who are defending Feely, accused in
recent months of molesting two boys in Rockford, Ill., during
the1970s.

The Riverside parishioners, who grew up revering the Franciscan
friar in the 1960s, are gathering signatures to send to Feely's
religious order, hoping to preserve his memory as a quiet,
spiritual priest who died in 1991.

"I believe to my soul that he didn't do it," said Lamb's
brother, Robin Woolsey, 50, who suspects Feely's accusers are
trying to cash-in on the clergy sex scandal gripping the
Catholic Church. "It's an opportunity to make a buck by leveling
charges that really can't be defended."

Feely has never been accused of sexual misconduct during his 20
years serving Riverside parishes, said the Rev. Howard Lincoln,
spokesman for the San Bernardino Diocese.

Jeffery Anderson, a Minnesota lawyer who is representing one of
Feely 's accusers, said he is not surprised that past
parishioners are defending the cleric.

"In case after case, parishioners who had trusted the priest and
think they are wonderful refuse to believe they are flawed,"
Anderson said.

Neither accuser has sued, Anderson said.

Feely's supporters say they are not blind to the avalanche of
clergy abuse cases that have surfaced in recent years.

"There have been terrible abuses," Woolsey said. "The church has
done a poor job in the past of dealing with that. . . but if
there was anyone who I was 100 percent sure of, it was Father
Ted."

Woolsey said that as a 10-year-old boy, he would ride his bike
to church to meet Feely before the 7 a.m. weekday Mass at Queen
of Angels.

"There was no one at the school, no one at the church," Woolsey
said. "I was alone with him many, many times and never once did
anything happen or did I feel uncomfortable."

Rob and Dan Meier, brothers and former altar boys, agreed,
recalled how they were constantly at the church in the 1960s,
attending classes, playing sports and working.

"We were in and out of the rectory all the time and we never
experienced anything like that," Rob Meier, 48, said of the
accusations.

Between school and church, former altar boy Scott Brennan
figures he spent more time with Feely than his own parents.
"He was always so encouraging," said Brennan, 47. "He was always
a gentle, caring person who pointed you to God."

Last month, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a
national self-help group, urged Bishop Gerald Barnes to visit
the three Riverside churches where Feely worked to ask victims
or witnesses to come forward.

"We are considering the most appropriate and responsible manner
to respond in this matter," Lincoln said.
Ordained in 1958, Feely worked at St. Thomas, Queen of Angels
and Our Lady of Guadalupe during much of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.